NONFICTION NOVEMBER: Be the Expert (week 3)

Week 3: (Nov. 11 to 15) – Be The Expert/Ask the Expert/Become the Expert (Katie at Doing Dewey): Three ways to join in this week! You can either share 3 or more books on a single topic that you have read and can recommend (be the expert), you can put the call out for good nonfiction on a specific topic that you have been dying to read (ask the expert), or you can create your own list of books on a topic that you’d like to read (become the expert)

Physics Biographies and Memoirs

I've chosen to highlight some physics related biographies or memoirs. The ones I've selected are good reads and written in a way that is not dry or boring. I recommend!

Let me know if there are other great physics biographies I should read!

Force of Nature by Richard Reeves

The story of Ernest Rutherford was a read from this year was good. I loved all the connections between the great physicists of the early 1900s. Just imagining the excitement in the physics world as so much was being discovered made the book worthwhile for me.

Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman by Richard Feynman

Richard Feynman was a real character and this is a collection of his stories. He's well known for popularizing physics, and his ability to tell a great story. There are several books by Feynman, and any of them are probably good reads.

e=mc2 by David Bodanis

Not a biography of any person, it is the biography of Einstein's famous equation, E=mc^2. Each component gets a chapter, and background information. Fascinating stuff!

(I tried another Bodanis book this year which was disappointing, but I think it was still interesting and well written, it just didn't cover the information that I was expecting, so I won't put it on him - it was me)

Zap: Nicola Tesla Takes Charge
Although this is a children's book, any book that discusses Nicola Tesla is going to be a winner. This would just whet your appetite for stories of the crazy inventor Tesla, but it would be a gateway book to Tesla. I'm still looking for adult book about Tesla. I've read a fictional book which was really good - Last Days of Night by Graham Moore which was a great mystery but I'd like another Tesla title - fiction or nonfiction.

Finding Wonders by Jeannine Atkins
Technically a fictional book, the information in this blank verse account of three female scientists is fabulous! My favourite book from 2017. 

Related - Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science by Rachel Swaby. More traditional biographies than Finding Wonders, great intro to all those women scientists you've probably never heard of.

An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Col Chris Hadfield
And finally, Col Chris Hadfield, and real life hero/good guy with his memoir/guide to life. The more you read about Hadfield, the more impressive his is. We are so proud of him here in Canada, and this book is an inspirational read of following your dreams and having everything pay off, through all your hard work and planning.